[Pillows]

if I see a stray cat out in the woods where I am quail hunting I shoot it.

I believe that's a felony.

[gundog]

I believe that's a felony.

Where? In Oregon, I believe it is now a felony to maliciously kill someone's pet, but a feral cat? C'mon. The law, again in Oregon, doesn't allow people to have a dog off-leash in game-bird nesting habitat during certain months.

[PeterFinn]

"I believe that's a felony."

In California it has been allowed with clarity since 1991 to shoot roving dogs and cats in agricultural and forested areas.

The only way it would be a felony is to shoot the animal to wound it and then deliberately let it suffer. That is just cruelty. A nice headshot with a .45 vaporizes most cat heads on impact and is very humane.